March 24th, 2019:

 A day I had been anxiously awaiting since the anti-climactic finish to my 2018 fantasy baseball season. After a mediocre fourth-place finish in the year prior, I was finally ready to put my best strategies to the test, and dominate the other seven teams. But before the draft kicked off at noon, one very important aspect of my squad needed to be squared away.

 With less than ten minutes to spare, I had devised my team name: Harper’s Homers. Bryce Harper, the Phillies’ newest superstar, would surely instill fear into the minds of team owners everywhere. With a quick logo alteration to the familiar red “P” of the Phillies, the auction was all but ready to commence.

 To my excitement, I was awarded the opening nomination. Christian Yelich, the 2018 NL MVP, was now on the board. Unfortunately, the cost rose too high, and he found a home on another roster.

 With digital currency flying left and right, I reeled in top-tier players like Ozzie Albies, Cody Bellinger, Miguel Andujar, David Robertson, and Mitch Haniger with my first five selections. But as the rounds slowly passed by, I had my sights set on arguably the best pitcher in the MLB, who threw the final pitch of the 2018 World Series. Chris Sale of the Boston Red Sox was going to be mine, and nobody was going to change my mind.

 Round 39. My target had peeked onto the top players available list, and I felt the tension beginning to grow. Faster than I could blink my eyes, the eager, smiling face of Chris Sale had flashed onto the screen. My right index finger became lightning, as I slammed the bidding button. Finally, my $38 bid surpassed what everyone else was willing to put up.

 “Going once,” the electronic voice proclaimed. My heart stood still.

 “Going twice.” A smile began to break across my face.

 “SOLD!!” I yelled out in joy, as my favorite MLB pitcher had joined my fantasy team.

 As the rounds slowly crawled by, the white budget icon became my mortal enemy. Limiting but a giver of life, it prevented key players from filling out my team’s empty slots. My aggressive strategies might have also had a say in my predicament, as I had drafted most of my team for over twenty dollars per player up to that point. The annual “beast-for-a-buck” search had begun.

 Relief pitcher ace Andrew Miller, workhorse starter Yu Darvish, and young prospect Byron Buxton, all selected for one dollar each, rounded out the back end of Harper’s Homers. Even though the titular superstar was nowhere to be found, I was very satisfied with the end result.

 If I heard “Going once, going twice, sold!” for a 201st time, I might have went crazy. But that’s just part of the endless fantasy baseball fun, and I’m already counting down the days until next year’s draft.